Apparatus for mixing



June 12,

P. MATHEWS ET AL I H I, M i;

QLLZM INI/E/VTORS June 12, 1923.

P. L. MATHEWS ET AL APPARATUS FOR MIXING Filed 19, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H V m M n Q L. 1 & m

g: 3 m i i C n h 51;: :1 2 m I m; 4

m hm H'MMH Patented June 12, 1923.

' sTAT PYATE'NT 1 PAUL 1.. mA'rnEws Ann RICHARD 1!. warns, or nEwAnx', we

, ArrAnA'rus ro'n sumo;

Application filed November 19, 1920. serial no. 425,257. F

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PAUL L. MATHEWS and RICHARD M. WILLIS, citizens of the United States, and residents of Newark, 1nthe county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have jointly made certain new and-useful Improvements in Apparatus for Mlxmg, of which the following is a specification.

An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus or machine for the mixing, agglomerating, commingling or fluxing of admixtures, such as oil, water, pitch or other materials when in fluid, liquid or sem1-l1qu1d form, with another substance or substances suitably prepared for treatment in the machine.

chine is particularly adapted to rate upon is coal residue, preferably a uni ormly but partially distilled coal residue or partiall carbonized coal, to which pitch for bin ing purposes is added in the making of briquets. During the mixing and agglomerating, steam, preferably superheated steam, is added to facilitate the fluxing of the materials.

The apparatus is applicable to operate not only upon partially distilled coal, but upon raw coal, coal residues and even upon other materials where it is desiredto mix therewith any desired admixture, such as water, oil or other materials in fluid, liquid or semiliquid state or condition. The liquid or liq- .uids and substance or substances are fed into the machine preferably simultaneously and continuously.

The invention consists essentially in the employment of a plurality of cooperating, complementary, intermeshing or interacting worms or screws, 'preferably of oppositehand, having equal differentials in pitch. These worms or screws are .revolvably mounted within a. suitable casing into which: the substance or substances fed thereto under oes or is subjected to the treatment here in ascribed, and after said treatment dis charged from the casing. The machine is provided .with suitable driving'mechanism, not shown. The ,ad acent cooperating intermeshing worms or screws are geared together so that they simultaneously revolve 1n the proper directionat equal speeds.

As illustrating a specific manner in which the invention may be realized reference is made to the accompanyin drawings forming a. part of this speci cation, in which drawings,

One of the substances which the ma-v Fi rel is a plan view of the machine. In t is, view there is seen the casin into which the substance, or substances, is fed through a receiving opening or feed hopper at one'end and from which the mixed material is discharged at the other end; there is also seen a pair of opposite-handed intermeshmg worms or screws located within and extending along the casing.

Figure 2 is a longitudinalvertical section of the machine clearly showing the receiving opening or feed hopper at one end of the casing; also showing one'of the intermesh- .mg worms or screws which extend from the receiving opening or feed hopper along and through the casing. This figure is a view taken as on the plane indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure l or of Figure 3 looking in the direction of the arrows; and .7

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section which shows the casing in cross-section. it also shows the location and arrangement of the intermeshing Worms or screws therein. This figure is a view taken as on the plane indicated by the line 3+3 of Figure 1 or of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

' Referring now to the drawings in detail, 1, 1 designates two parallel channel members which may be-referred to and considered as main frame members or supports for the machine. The casing of the machine is designated by 2 and comprises a throat memher or portion 3 and a tubular body member or portion 4;. The throat member or portion 3 has a hopper 27 that provides the feed opening or receiving opening through which the substance to be treated enters. A plurality of cooperating intermeshing or interacting worms or screws-a pair of such screws 5, 5-are located within and extend along the tubular body member or portion 4. These worms or screws 5 are preferably'opposite-handed in other words, the flights or spirals '6 on one screw slope inan opposite direction to that of the flights or spirals 7 on the companion screw, as is readily seen from an inspection of Figure 1. These worms or screws are geared together by means of gearwheels 8, 8, so that when the screws rot-ate they turn in opposite directions.

The throat member or portion 3 is secured to the channel members or main frame members 1 at one end in any suitable manner, as by bolts 9. At the other end of the channel members or main frame members 1 there is are carried by or provided in a projecting or neck 24 secured in any suitable manner a bearing member 10 which may be relied upon to support the ends 11 of the shafts of the screws, to wit, the ends located at the (imchar e end of the machine. This bearing member 10, however, is mounted so that t can be readily removed and thereby permit an endwise or longitudinal movement of the screws -from their operative POSItiOD At the charging end of the machine the mter-. meshing worms or screws are held in place by suitable bearings 12 provided thereon. In the construction shown these bearings rtion 13 on the throat member or portion 3. At the feeding end there is also provided a thrust bearing 14 for each of the worms or screws 5.

From the construction just described, it will be apparent that when the bearing member is removed the screws can be readily takenfrom the machine by being moved in a longitudinal direction, indicated by the arrow 15. It will also be observed that in the construction shown the throat member or portion 3 is a fixed member and that the tubular body member or portion 4 is a movable member, being adjustable in a longitudinal direction in any suitable manner, as by screws 16, each of which screws extends through and is revolvably mounted upon an ear portion 17 of the throat member 3. These screws 16 are held in place against longitudinal movement relative to the ear portions by means of collars or shoulders 18 and 19. The threaded portion 20 ofeach screw extends through a corresponding lug or car 21 threaded to receive it, said lug or ear extending from the tubular body member or portion 4. It will be readily apparent that by suitably turning the screws 16 the body member or portion 4 can be moved to any desired position along the intermeshing worms or screws 5, 5 and can be held by sald screws 16 in adjusted position.

The tubular body member or portion 4 also has a second set of lugs designated as 22. The lugs 21 and 22 rest upon and are slidable along angle-irons or guides. 23 secured in any suitable manner to parallel channel -members or main frame members 1, with the result that the weight of the tubular member or portion 4 and any loadtherein is ultimately supported by means of the lugs 21- and 22 and angle-irons or guides 23 upon the channel members or main frame members 1. In cross-section, the interior contour of the tubular member or portion 4 is bieylindrical'or in the form of the numeral 8 and in each lobe of the numeral there is located one of the intermeshing screws, as is readily apparent from an ,inspection of Figure 3. The tubular body member or pgrtion 4 has a reduced portion 1: enters and fit's a corresponding socketportion 25 on the throat member or portion 3, and the construction is such as to permit or allow the tubular body member or portion 4- to be moved longitudinally to any desired position alongthe intermeshing worms or screws 5 and at the same time to maintain the throat member 3 and tubular body member 4 in cooperation to constitute a casing for the machine. water, steam or other material in fluid,

liquid orsemi-liquid state or condition is conveyed to the casing in anyl suitable manner, as through valve-contro ed pipes 26.

From what has preceded, it will be apparent that the throat member or portion 3 and the tubular body member or portion 4 constitute the casing of the machine. and while these two members or portions have been shown as separate members still it will be manifest that in some instances it will be 'pIracticable to make said members integral.

owever, in thespecific form of the invention these members or portions 3 and 4 have been made separate so as to permit of the longitudinal adjustment of the body memout necessltating the change of position of the throat member and of the bearing members carrying the shafts on the intermeshing The oil, pitch .90 her 4 alon the intermeshing screws 5 withward the discharging end thereof the pitch of the flights or spirals of the worms or screws gradually decrease, it will be apparent that a movement of the body member or portion 4 along the screws in effect constitutes an extension of the body member and can be relied upon to control the degree of mixing of the material and substances within the machine and also the degree of pressure to which the materials and substanc are subjected.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

Materials or substances, such as uniformly but partially distilled coal residue in finely divided or pulverized condition, enter through the receiving opening of the feed hopper 27 and are engaged by the spirals or flights 6 and 7 of the intermeshing worms or screws 5. The admixture is fed to the material in. the machine in any suitable manner, either with the entering material to be treated, if the admixture at that time is in solid form, prthrough the pipes 26, if

it is then in a form to flow throu h the pipes.

Should the admixture be 1nthe form of hard pitch, then beat is supplied of the pipes 26 could be relied upon tosupply oil or pitch in liquid or semi-liquid form, while another pipe 26 might be relied upon to supply steam, either saturated,

dry or superheated; or, a third pipe might be employed for the purpose of tempering the mixture. As the intermeshing worms or screws 5 are turned they operate so as to subject the material and substances in the casing to a mixing action and so as to also subject the material to an increasing degree of compression as the substances travel from the charging end of the machine toward the discharging end thereof, and particularly as. the substances pass through the tubularbody portion 4. The degree of mixing and compressing to which the substances are to be treated is con trolled preferably to a certain extent by the position of the tubular body member 4 along the worms or screws 5. In other words, when the tubular body member 4 occupies its innermost position or the position nearest the, throat member 3 the degree of mixing and compressing to which the substances are subjected in passing through the machine is less than is the case when the body member 4 occupies its outermost position and the degree of mixing and compressing is preferably controlled to acertain extent by the intermediate position for the tubular body member 4. The length of the intermeshing worms or screws, the number of the spirals or flights, and the differentials in pitch should be determined according to the'nature of the substance or substances to be treated, the degree of mixing desired, and also the degree of compression desired. As previously indicated, heat can be applied to the exterior of the casing in order to supplv any added heat necessary or desirable for carrying out or facilitating the fiuxing and mixing operation in the-machine.

The improvements herein set forth are not limited to the precise construction and arran ement shown and described for they may lie embodied in various forms and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A mixing and fiuxing apparatus comprising a tubular casingmember and a pair of cooperating intermeshing and interacting worms or screws therein, said casing having a receiving opening at one end and a discharge opening at the other end, said tubular casing being in cross-section in the form of the numeral 8, there being one of said screws in each lobe of the 8, which screws are characterized by having the pitch of the flights or spirals on each gradually decreasing in passing from the receiving opening toward the discharge opening, the apparatus having means whereby said screws rotate in the proper direction relative to each other,

and also having means for elfecting a relative longitudinal adjustment between the screws on the one hand and the efiective body portion of the casing which co-operates with the screws on the other.

2. A mixing and fiuxing apparatus comprising a casing having a longitudinally extending tubular portion the interior of which is bicylindrical in cross-section, a pair of cooperating interacting and intermeshing worms or screws located in said bicylindrical portion, which screws are oppositehanded and so constructed that they have equal differentials in pitch, gearing whereby said screws must turn in opposite directions relative to each other, and means for adjusting said tubular body portion longitudinally along the screws and for holding said screws in adjusted position.

3. A mixing and fiuxing apparatus comprising a casing having a longitudinally extending tubular portion and cooperating interacting and intermeshing worms or screws located in said tubular portions and which screws have equal differentials in pitch, gearing whereby said screws must turn in the proper direction relative to each other, and means for efiecting a change in the length of said tubular body member along said worms or screws.

4. A mixing and fiuxing apparatus comprising a casing having a longitudinally extending tubular portion the interior of which is in cross-section in the form of the numeral 8, a pair of cooperating interacting and intermeshing worms or screws, there being one of said screws located in each lobe of the 8, gearing whereby each screw must turn in the proper direction relative to the other, and means for causing a change in the effective length of that portion of the casing which extends longitudinally along the screws.

5. A mixing and fiuxing apparatus comprising a casing having a; fixed throat memer or portion provided with a hopper, a longitudinally adjustable tubular body member or portion the interior of which is bicylindrical in cross-section, a pair of cooperating interacting and intermeshing worms or screws extending from the throat mem ber and located in said bicylindrical portion, which screws each have a differential pitch, means for efiecting the longitudinal adjustment of said tubular body member of portion along the screws, and piping for sup-' plying material in fluid, liquid, or semiiquid state to the substances within the casin This specification signed the 5th day of November, A. D. 1920, and 12th day of November, A. D. 1920.

PAUL L. MATHEWS. RICHARD M.'WILLIS. 

